


Leaflet

by The_Twisted_Light



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Gen, Growing Up, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-24 20:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21344488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Twisted_Light/pseuds/The_Twisted_Light
Summary: You've got another shot at the Game of Life. The field is a world you only thought was fictional. Care to go all in?Self-Insert with a take I daresay unusual from the norm.(An almost direct reupload of my first fic from FFn )
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28
Collections: All Naruto self-inserts





	1. To The Void.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome , for the first time, or once more  
To "Leaflet" ! Thank you for your time today, and excuse the mess, getting back into posting one's works is... messy.
> 
> I could not have gathered the courage to bring it back without beautiful people at R/Fanfiction Discord. The best people. The people I love very much, even if I don't say it to them too often. Go there if you seek a welcoming community of readers and writers! 
> 
> With no more further adoes, the first page of "Leaflet" is yours to be turned and looked at.

  
** It awoke**.

Darkness and water still were fresh in its mind. Was it still wet around? Did not seem to be so. In fact, there seemed nothing to be all around. Panicking, the thing tried opening its eyes, but realized it did not have any. It tried to scream, but the same was with the mouth. All attempts to hear something failed. Not getting responses when trying to feel anything with the skin– no movement, no feelings of touch. It seemed all there was to be were the entity and the space that housed it, untouchable, unseen, silent, seemingly infinite. Afraid to be devoured by the abyss the thing reached out with all its being to feel anything at all.

And there it was, a feeling ! It was just 

  
just like a?   
  
  
_Like what? _  
_Like heart beat?_  
**(what’s heart?)**  
Too slow to be heart,too **flowing**!  
Not blood too,no pulse!   
(What flow beside blood?_Lymph_?No,not **liquid**!)  
Some sort of buzzing..._**energy**_?But humans have none…  
Human?Am I human?What am I?  
Doesn't matter! I feel it! I feel!..  
... tired... I need to rest...<strike>deal_withit_**later**</strike>...  
  
And so it moved to slumber.  
The dream it saw were of colorful mess, full of unrecognizable images and strange, but familiar sounds. Bright shapes passing in a blur,turning ahead to him,making those sounds,calling him to come close. If only it could hear them a little more clearly... If only it could focus his sight a bit more... If only he could come closer...He (_he_?am I "**he"**?I am _**he**_!) was so close to understanding!

The only things he could make up in the cacophony were white slippery surface and sharp pain in his neck that was quickly followed by numbness and eventually cold darkness. He knew it was a dream, knew that he would not go back to the darkness. Did not make the fear of cessation any lesser. And so he slept, weak and afraid among the blur.

He awoke at what seemed to be the morning, judging by the light that he… had seen seen!   
With joy he also discovered that he also felt something that was a rough surface under him, heard things happening in the distance. Overjoyed he tried to move, to explore the world that had opened to him! Problems arose when he first decided to change his position. Attempts to move around were met with resistance, and eventually proved futile. Even moving the smallest finger on his hand proved to be enormous task, like he was fighting for his life to reach out and touch _SOMETHING_ with this damn (**_pinky?_**)!

  
He gave up on movement and decided to try to concentrate and instead try to focus his eyes around. To an unpleasant surprise the eyes did not obey. They clearly worked, poorly as they were, mostly showing white surface up above (**_sky_**?_roof_?**ceiling**!) and shapes that sometimes came near to shove what seemed to feel like a rubbery thing dripping with something warm and tasty coming out of it bit. It was a small moment of bliss in the unknown environment, having another thing to feel,not having to worry about what was going on. Minutes passed,and he prepared for the joy to end. Not wanting to part away from the tasty thing he tried to hold it with his mouth, hoping that at least this he was in power to do! Alas, that was not to be and the thing (<strike>chew toy</strike>?_suckle_?**milk bottle**!) was taken away. 

His eyes stared at the ceiling again. Powerless to do anything else and wishing to know something he decided to use the time to think on the situation he ended up in. Where was he had proven to be impossible to find out due to lack of control over the sight and movement.

What about touch then ? There was something rough under him, but not to such degree that it irritated his skin. In fact, he did not feel that anything bothered his body at all. Pleased with such state of things, he started musing on current situation. Perhaps if the thing that brings the bottle comes closer he might recognize it. That could wait though. 

What was most important at the moment was the mystery that he was to himself. With all the madness that happened in **_(...previous periods..._**) time before...yesterday he forgot to further re-access his being. 

\- _Who am I ? I seem to be a human infant. A baby then._  
_-I’m no baby though. I don't know what am I supposed __to be, but clearly not that, not that age for sure._  
-_ Doesn't really matter for as long as I live. Life is what matters, no matter what form it forces me to take._  
_ \- What happened before then? I seem to have stopped existing... died. Yes, I was dead and wished I lived. Like every normal human would._  
_\- And here I am now. Miracles do happen after all. Although I wish I could control my weak __pile of a body better. _  
_-If I died and still exist that means I have a past life. What do I have from it? Anything to help me? Clarify what happened to me? _  
_-Let’s see what is there in my mind. Some memories, sure, otherwise I would not be able to think at all. But clearly not all of them, even if I feel them at the edge of my conciousness. _

_-Piled into shapeless blobs of images and sound, threatening to unwind,but not in danger of doing that by themselves. Perhaps it's for the better. My brain should not be able to handle a lifetime worth of memories and personality anyway. I am amazed I am aware at all._

  
\- **_What is my name though ? Can't remember. Starts with "R" for sure, and I 100% am _**  
**_certain friends used to call me "Rin". Sounds average,but whatever. Let's use it for a while. _**

It was kind of weird what was going on. Death and rebirth seemed typical scenarios of Rin's fantasies. But something felt off. He did not remember his birth into the   
world, awakening in the middle of the night. Feeling nothing but that weird flow of energy during his first moments.

Not feeling desire to cry, whine or being simply move at the moment. “Not crying” part seemed especially weird, Rin expected to cry against his will over the smallest events,aware that, well, newborn babies cry just because that’s pretty much the only way they can react to the world. It brought fear that something went wrong and he did not connect with his new body. He probed the surroundings again. Besides not being able to move at all there seemed to be no problems, all the senses reported on the state of his surroundings and there seemed to be no discomfort. He dismissed his fears and pondered again. 

_\- Well. Here I am. Reincarnated. Fanfiction came to life. What am I gonna do now? _   
_Which world am I in? Am I even in some existing world? Oh gods I hope it's normal Earth._   
_ Guessing without clues is going to get really boring really fast. I think I should take a nap for now._

  
He tentatively tried closing his eyes and mentally sighed in relief when it worked. Thank whatever for small mercies, as with the moving his eyes he could start hoping to move his whole body eventually.

  
As Rin felt the sleep claim him he felt something weakly pushing him inside his head, trying to push through.

  
Something tried to get rid of him in his own body ! While he was going to sleep no less ! Focusing on the annoying presence Rin _pushed_ it and  
  
**realized**

  
<strike>first feeling not coming from his sensory organs</strike>   
no memories of birth   
_not remembering what he was at once_   
**no desire to cry**   
_lack of almost any control even over the weakest movements_   
**not being able to remember his name**   
_ **this weak presence** _

Poring over once more on his experiences, Rin had come to an unpleasant conclusion. It seemed that he was gravely mistaken when he assumed that he was reincarnated   
after death. After all, such things only happen in fiction, don't they. Life proved to be... a stranger thing for him. 

  
Rin was a guest at the body. **At best**.  
He did not want to thinking about what else he might have been or what will happen now. He seem to have overextended his welcome.  
  
And now the owner tried to end RIN’s visit.


	2. "So here I sit, in quite a pickle"

The errors in his conclusions has shaken Rin. Failing seeing something so important felt pretty dumb. He did think he was a smart man before and didn’t like feeling dumb.

  
_-To my defense the whole situation _ _is confusing._

_-Even considering that reincarnation might go any sort of wrong was not in my books._

_ **(Guess someone has forgotten that everything goes wrong if possible, always.) ** _

_ **   
** -Why would my life  and death  be an exception  though? _

Feeling that there was no time for further distractions, Rin has decided to evaluate the situation again and establish basic **_points_?truths?_facts_**.   
  
1\. If he believed his memories, then he did indeed die and was reincarnated

An embarrassing death even. Slipping in a shower and breaking one’s neck is not something anybody would call a glorious demise. The last memory of his old life was him lying on a wet floor, rapidly losing _clearance**?**_**crystal**_**?****clarity**_.

His last thoughts were him desperately begging not to die, hoping for any kind of miracle to save him.** It did, there was no room for complains on that ****regard.**

  
2\. Even if he did remember his past life’s existence, he could not recall most of it. He was not bothered too much by it though, as nobody could remember their life in full colors on the best of days. The memories would probably be accessible as body and mind matured.  
  
_\- Huh. I can feel I can get my thoughts __getting__ more complex the more I think. Neat.  
_

3\. Senses of the body seemed to work properly for a newborn. Eyes have seen, skin had felt and taste buds have performed. He had no idea about his hearing though. He hasn’t gotten to focusing on how well ears worked, but probably should soon.

  
_ \- There’_ _s no _ _discomfort though, not something you_ _’d_ _ expect from a baby. _ _Babies are usually always hungry, dirty and crying_ _. Now – none of that. _ _I don’t_ _ not even feel the need to breathe _ _and _ _I’m making no_ _ conscious effor_ _t to. Body still does, but weakly, like on autopilot. Weird, even if convenient._

4.The actual control of the _chalice_**?****vessel** remained out of reach. No matter how hard had he concentrated, no limb moved and eyes did not shift focus as he wished. Well, aside from closing the eyes moments ago before he was so rudely interrupted. Which brought him to the next point.

_\- There’s something else here with me. Or no? Am I really the guest?_  
I’m the one that came here with memories, after all. Should I count myself as the intruder?  
There is clearly another mental entity here. Hostile to boot. The second I lost conscious focus it tried to drive me away. **Interesti****ng. ****Frightening.  
EXCITING.**

That led him to settle on himself being an invader to a poor helpless newborn baby.   
And to a dilemma on how to proceed with this whole situation.

The original owner’s presence was really weak. Rin felt he could probably **push?press?**_**squish **_it if he wanted. The thing that stopped him from doing that instantly was the suspicion if that he will get rid of it the body would malfunction.

After all, _something _had controlled body’s movement’s and breathing without him. Wouldn’t be much of a wild guess to assume the actions were performed by the owner.

  
_\- Better play it safe. I have no desire to lose my existence because I got greedy and it turned out __**‘whoops, I’m trapped in a dying newborn’.**__  
There’s no telling __if __there is next world after this one too after all. __The owner__ is better left __alone __until our pilot learns how to actually think. __In the meanwhile all I have to do is thwart its attempts to eliminate __me__. I doubt it would be that hard, _**SURELY**. Like **NOTHING** had gone wrong in recent times, absolutely NOT.   


With that in mind, Rin has decided to let himself rest for a bit. It would probably be a troubled sleep, seeing as he was driven away the instant he closed his eyes and relaxed. Now that the threat was exposed and known though, the weary rebirth wheel rider would be able to anticipate it and still let himself to a bit of slumber.  
  


_\- I seem to have forgotten something important. Ah, doesn’t matter if I can’t recall it at once. Deal with it if it comes up, I feel I’ll crumble if I don’t have some rest. Good night, everything..._

The sleep had been a troubled one. The dreams were filled with blue curtains, white wet metal and encroaching darkness then everything became white and here he was again in the shower, falling to his demise. Over and over again. More than once he had felt nagging feeling of being pushed away waking him up, forcing Rin to pressure the owner’s mind back until he could relax again.

In short periods of awareness the former man had felt something else again, something that he felt he had forgotten. The flowing feeling of energy coursing through his being came back. He had almost completely forgotten about it, being preoccupied with more earthly senses to check up on.

  
It was a buzzing feeling, almost like electricity coursing through his veins, but much more gentle, much more familiar to the occupied body. Rin tried grabbing the feeling in attempts to understand its purpose, but felt it dance and jolt uncontrollably unless he focused his whole attention to it. When he did, however, several interesting facts revealed themselves.

As soon as Rin tried directing the flow to any part of his body, he felt on the verge of actually controlling it, sensing a twitch or a slight move that was directed by him. Almost if he tried to direct body parts as puppets. That was marginally better than being completely shut off.

_-I hope I can master it enough to move fluidly. I don’t think people will be prepared for impromptu robot dance lessons…  
_

The nature of the energy still eluded him though. Was it magic? Was it the Force? Was it chakra? Was it something else entirely? Any of those variants spelled disaster to him, as in case with known forms Rin did not have enough information besides cursory glances and in case of something new would just have no idea how to deal with it. Plus our reincarnee never was much of a survivalist, mostly preferring to go with the flow, dealing with problems with his mind and silver(ed) tongue rather than brute force that characterized many a hero.

_-Please leave the adventures for suicidal idiots. I would rather keep my existence as intact as it is possible.  
For that I have to study the world further and get __better control of that tiny bundle of flesh._  
I need to try to get more rest. Morning will make everything clearer.

And so the game of “poke Rin when he sleeps continued” until a moment just came where he felt he no longer felt too tired. Considering it more than enough rest he has decided to look around _properly _this time.   
  


_ -Yep. Ceiling seems to be still there. Good for it. _ _I seem to be lying in a small bed. Not a fancy one. White too, must have been too light of a tone to discern onto these light beige walls. Doesn’t seem to be anything else of importance from my point of view._

  
The air smelled fresh… yet with a touch of staleness at the same time. Like the room itself is greatly ventilated, but there are a lot of people coming through it… or being kept here. That crosses out a family home. Possibly hospital. Or a **prison?kindergarten?**_**orphanage**_**.   
**

Whatever it was, Rin had decided to let the next person in his line of sight provide the clues. For now it was time to practice his energy flow control. Last time he got his right pinky to twitch slightly and he did not want to stop at this point.

Some amount of time has passed before he heard the door open, then footsteps coming closer.

**\- Ohaiyou, Junko-chan **– a soft female voice almost whispered.

_Japanese huh? Interesting. S_ _till leaves a few options. _

Rin channeled a bit of energy into hands, expecting a bottle to be held against him. Good news were that the whole hands moved to his will, albeit sluggishly. He guessed that a rest, however troubled, strengthened him and his control.

  
The bad news were no bottle was offered to him. Instead, he saw a figure close by and pick him up. Preoccupied with his hands Rin failed to see the features of the woman who held him.

-**Junko… Waga kirei musume…**

Rin did not quite understand the words that the woman whispered, but the tone and affection in her voice stated the obvious.

  
_ -So this is my caretaker now … I should show proper respect to _ _h_ _er, since she is responsible for my existence now. No body – no me after all, and I will probably be taken care of by her in nearest years. Better get used to _ _her being my mother._

But “_musume_”? As far as he knew this is Japanese for “_daughter_” plus “_Junko-chan_” did not exactly scream masculinity as well. Which meant his biological gender most likely was not the same as his previous and current mental one. Joy. There were bound to be issues with that in the future, but Rin has decided to deal with them as they came.   
He also noted that he felt the buzzing flow in the woman as well, albeit felt it much weaker than in himself, more just noting it’s there and not pinpointing the way it spread in his own vessel.

After the woman held Rin a bit more, whispering what could only be words of parental love, she put him back into the bed, going out of room and coming back with the bottle.

Using the chance to look upon his mother**(?)** as she brought the food near him, Rin marveled at how long her raven hair was and how fair and pale her skin was as well. A bit too pale to look healthy, with heavy shadows under her eyes. Probably not enough sleep and recent birth has taken their toll on her. He could only hope everything would be alright.

After finishing his meal Rin , once again staving off the owner’s mental mass, has decided to rest again. He had quite a long period of boredom and helplessness to sleep and eat through.

  


By Rin’s estimates several months have passed. He was almost used to being called “Junko” but still refused to accept it as his true name. His control of the body grew, movements no longer being sluggish marionette motions that they were. He crawled around with much enthusiasm, but hadn’t risked walking yet, deeming it too early, just as as he deemed speaking “Mama” or “Papa” a problem for later. Overall his process of growing up seemed normal so far. Aside from future prospect of teething everything promised a normal and happy childhood for him.

  
The one of the few negative prospects was that he still had no idea where he was aside from place where people spoke Japanese. That irritated Rin to no end and he could not wait for learning how to speak properly and read. Unfortunately that was not due for at least another 6 months at least.

  
The major second issue was that of the mind of the body’s owner. It grew stronger bit by bit every day, and although he had no problems with shoving it aside yet, it could possibly become an issue very soon. Then Rin would have to decide between his existence and the life of a little girl native to her world. Even if the choice was obvious, he still did not want to stain his hands with Junko’s life before it was absolutely necessary.   
  
And actual biggest issue that poisoned Rin’s quiet childhood was absolute boredom. Despite spending his time trying to improve his control, despite him trying to make sense of Japanese before he was properly taught, despite plenty of toys he was given Rin’s mind still craved intellectual stimulation. A conversation, a book, hell, even some music would have been fine, but alas that was not to be. His parents either simply had no music player devices/radio at home or these things were unknown in the world, same for TV.  
In desperation Rin has decided to try and recall as much of his past life as he could. Historical events, places, culture, particularly music and shows - all this might have been useless baggage to him now, but it at least occupied his mind, not letting Rin go insane out of sheer boredom.

_Strange. I thought I would be more upset about losing my old world. It was not the best one, but I had friends and family in there, a decent job. My life was quite good yet I still feel no real regret or sadness. Just slightly upset that I won’t see a lot of good things that might have happened to “Rinat”._  
Now that I think of it I feel nothing too deeply at all. Sure, I feel bored or satisfied or displeased, but these thing seem shallow to the intensity of emotions I would expect from myself upon waking up and finding out my life is lost forever. Chalk it up for my baby brain not being able to process everything too well. I’ll have my share of crises when I mature.  
  
As three months passed Rin would wish he had not thought that, as the Fates had proven to be impatient and decided he was due to some mind-shattering disaster a bit earlier.

One evening nothing spelled danger. Rin was lying in his bed, proud of his today’s progress. He had poked his mother into showing him the books. Not the books he poked at the library, but children’s book she got for him, which was the plan anyway.   
Learning new language from scratch was harder since RIN was never much of a language genius. But it was not impossible, and soon his knowledge of Japanese would allow him to finally realize where the hell he was.  
But as he laid preparing to sleep Rin had felt _boiling darkness_ _**smothering him.**_  
**ANGER  
HATRED   
BLOODLUST   
**_****FREEDOM_

_ **  
He felt himself shiver uncontrollably, ** **hissed as he fought pressure of** ** Junko’s mind fluttering in wordless panic. Rin felt like he was burned alive, like he was torn apart, like ** **his whole being was disintegrated by the ocean of malice that surrounded him. He could not move nor feel .It felt like death all over again.** _

__ **Feeling parts of himself dissolving as the malice pressed harder he made the desperate choice.   
\- YOU DEAL WITH IT! - Rin screamed inwardly, shoving Junko to the forefront of his mind, letting go his pressure on her and accepting her control of the body. Then darkness claimed him. Again.  
____________________________________**

She was trapped. She wanted help, but her dark place did not let her. It was cold and clammy. For so long.  
Then everything started to boil. It hurt. She wanted to scream. She screamed. She heard nothing. She felt nothing but  
_fear panic why ?_  
Then she felt space around her shudder, her whole being pulled away, everything around her becoming white  
_**-YOU DEAL WITH IT!**_  
The light claimed her. Then Junko opened her eyes.

The space up was white. The walls were white. The air seemed __**red.  
**Screams of fear and pain tore the silence around her. She felt even more helpless than in dark space.  
  
Junko wanted to die just to not feel hatred that filled everything around her. She felt her vision darken again. Blackness crept on her eyes. She felt lighter and lighter.  
Just before letting go she whispered for the first time in the sounds Junko never knew before in the dark:

-Help.


	3. Take Me Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit different from previous ones.Was not easy to write, that much I do remember , but I felt that I needed to actually justify my "verse" now.
> 
> Hope you will like it and as always – thank you for reading.

When Kiyoshi and Kasumi have decided to finally live together as the Abe family and move to Konoha, they both had no idea what awaited them. After all, one just does not _move_ to the central hub of the Fire Country's military power and expect to live normal life right off the bat. Konoha might have had the image of treehugging pacifists but the ruthless scrutiny quickly showed the Abes that ninja did _not_ mess around when it came to identifying potential infiltrators.

No, background checks, document inspections and medical checkups were in order and the less would be said about 3 hours spent in the Torture and Interrogation building the better. It would do poor justice to expect shinobi to just let in everyone with desire to move. That would just invite all sorts of spies and criminals (well, more than had already slipped the inspections).

Right after this tidbit of paranoid bureaucracy was finally done with, life took semblance of normality. Instead of taking Kasumi's aunt's offer to live with her the pair had decided to buy their own living space. Granted, it would be harder to start a new home, but the Abes were more than willing to face hardships when turning the new leaf. A small flat in a nearly empty apartment complex with an acceptable rent had been found and they promptly moved there. This would have to until they could purchase their own land and build from there.

Finding new jobs was easier than they both expected, even if they were menial low wage jobs at first. After 6 months of floating around (this, unknown to the pair, marked the end of their migration "probation") they managed to get jobs they were comfortable with in terms of both stress and payment. Kiyoshi had gotten himself a job as a bartender in a restaurant near center and Kasumi – as a shopkeeper in a general goods store in the outskirts. The life was simple and they were both happy.

The news of Kasumi’s pregnancy had brought even more happiness into their life. Things were bound to be harder, sure, as she had to quit her job during the pregnancy, but the salary of our happy father was enough to cover the bases even for such demand-intensive period. Plus it’s not like they had no savings for this sort of situations. So, after 9 and a half months the Abe family has become 1/3rd bigger and infinitely more happy. They named their daughter Junko like Kiyoshi’s late grandmother.

Junko was the most beautiful baby girl ever, despite being a tiny wrinkled goblin that a newborn baby usually is. Their daughter had immediately shown herself as a quiet baby, preferring to look intensely upon everything rather than cry and scream. She was such a curious busybody, crawling around earlier than normal, always wanting to learn, even if she did not say a word doing that. Always so serious and silent, to the point of creepiness sometimes. Never outright demanding, but just wordlessly pointing to things she desired to inspect. Sometimes, in the moments when Junko was staring at something with eyes all too focused to be on a toddler's face, Kasumi had wondered if Junko was her daughter at all. But then her little sunshine looked at her, smiled and laughed a bit and all the mother's worries disappeared until next time.

Unfortunately for the Abe family, simple life was not something that was fated to last. Soon after Junko was 10 months old, on October 10 the Nine-Tail Demon fox had decided to choose Konoha as its slaughtering grounds.  
  
Chaos.  
Fires.**  
**Sounds of battle.  
_**Screams**_.

Luckily, their home was far enough from the monster’s path of rampage. This however did not shield them from sheer _hatred _and _**anger**_ that the eldritch Fox was exuding. Kiyoshi and Kasumi had spent that night in the nursery, clutching each other, hoping that the nightmare would be over. At least if things had come to worst they all would be together in the end…

The worst was not to happen this night. They were alive, their home intact. However, feeling of dread overcame the pair when _they heard a small “__Help” __from the crib._ The child’s first word, a great holiday in each and every parents’ life, was marred by the catastrophe, twisted into a desperate plea, a whisper of desperation. They rushed to her, only to be horrified for what they had seen.

After the attack something changed in their daughter. To be honest, Kasumi was glad her baby had lived through the waves of poisonous chakra and inhuman killer intent at all, but now...  
Now her Junko was just lying in bed for the third day, eyes wide opened, almost unblinking until she fell asleep. No cries, no screams, no further pleas for help.

It broke Kasumi’s heart to see their only daughter just be not her usual self, to barely even _be_. Kiyoshi said it will be alright, that it's just the shock and the worst had passed. Kasumi wanted to agree, but her heart screamed that something was wrong. Junko was sick and they couldn't even help her besides caring for her and praying it all would come to pass.

Like this wasn't bad enough by itself, the couple couldn't even take Junko to a psychiatrist yet. When they first rushed to the hospital, the receptionist informed them that all non-urgent visits were temporarily put on hold. The hospital needed every available hand to deal with overflow of patients which meant healers of any kind able to perform first aid were and would be on overtime for at least next few weeks if not more. Which also meant any hopes of getting a mind reader scan Junko and understand what was wrong were dashed due to Junko's condition being seemingly not an immideate threat to her life.

They did manage to get to a therapist after. The checkup revealed no damage to her bodily health. As bouncy as any toddler, only currently unresponsive. On the odd side her chakra readings showed that the mental component of Junko’s chakra was dominating physical. It was not that unusual and was a sign of either overall lack of physical development, a strong intellect or willpower. The amount was the number that showed . By all calculations Junko should have been a perfectly healthy 1-year old. But by all visible evidence she clearly wasn't.

In the end, all they got from hospital were tired "_Sorry_" and "_Please hold on, we should return to semi-normal schedule soon_". **_Soon _**was not nearly enough for them, but they had understood that for the village their needs were outweighed by dying and wounded. Today the Abes had to go home with nothing but their hope for the best. Tomorrow they had to go to their jobs again, fake smiles on their faces, hearts heavy with anticipation.

** Next day, Kiyoshi's workplace,bar " The First Canopy ", late evening ** **.**

  
The bar was empty the whole day, understandably, as not many people would or should have the time to drown their sorrows right now.

A customer approaches him. A ninja, as they often are. He had never seen this one before though. A tall man in a coat over his flack jacket, black hair tied up in a funny ponytail.

“_Heh, looks like a pineapple”_

When the shinobi came closer, Kiyoshi had understood why his client would need a drink or three. He looked like death warmed over: pale, eyebags over his narrow eyes, barely healed scars over his face, at least three day stubble in addition to his messy goatee. The bartender knew that ninja could go for days without sleep when the situation called for it. What he knew and most civilians didn’t though was that some ninja found it hard to actually fall asleep after such escapades.

When you are on alert for so long, the trained body kinda forgets how _not_ to wake itself up from a smallest hint of sleep. Which was kinda bad when the mission was over and you wanted to just hit the sack and be dead for a week. Which brought the shinobi with haunted eyes and twitchy limbs to the bars. Drinking themselves to stupor almost always did wonders to mission-induced insomnia.

\- Sake, please. Cheap one. Leave the bottle, - the guest said flatly, staring at front of himself.

\- Rough day?

\- Not quite. Think three.

\- Something happened? - Kiyoshi inquired idly, even if he knew the answer all too well.

\- Nah, not really. Aside from a big-ass fox maybe. Bright orange, exudes hatred, kills everything around it? Had to deal with the aftermath, - the guest chuckled mirthlessly.

\- And here I thought you were a brave warrior driving the beast away, - the bartender said with a smirk, - Did you search and rescue? Firefighting? Something else?

\- I did get to fight the fox. How exactly would be too troublesome and classified to explain. That was the _easy _ part. The _paperwork _after, however…

It went without saying what exactly did his guest mean by _paperwork. _The usual kind that went after any sort of disaster.  
  
Damage reports. Casualty accounting. Death certificates.

\- Not why you look like Death paid you a visit, isn’t it? - Kiyoshi asked, not really expecting the answer and left his guest to drink.

But he did. After the client’s was half done with a bottle the bartender had heard slightly slurred “..._on”._  
  


\- Hmmmm?

\- I said I ‘ave a son. Not even two months old. When t’at thing attacked… I wasn’t with ‘im. - the guest now tore his eyes away from his sake, staring at Kiyoshi.

\- Everything alright I assume?

\- Yesh... Nara. Shikaku Nara. If I continue t' bare myself like 'hat 't least I'd introduce m'self.

\- Kiyoshi Abe, either of those is fine. Pleasure to meet you, Nara-san.

\- Drop th' "Nara-san" crap, makes me feel old. Shikaku's fine. Tell me something 'bout yourself, Abe. Tired of talking about me. You new around here ?

\- Sort of, Shikaku-san. (_"Urgh") . _Came here around two years ago with my wife. Settled in, got a job. Nothing major, - Kiyoshi said, hiding behind cool indifferent mask.

\- Nothing major? How about your kid then? - the Nara smirked, suddenly looking sober.

-How did you? -

\- Easy. One of the first things that people usually do after settling in is get a job and have kids. You had this job for a while now and since you told you moved in with your wife, getting a kid was just an educated guess. Seen it quite often.

** _Kiyoshi did not know why the pineapple man was so talkative. Usually shinobi were quiet and glum when they came alone, just in and out to get smashed and go to bed after. But this person was different . Maybe he just felt lonely and wanted to pass time. Maybe he saw that Kiyoshi's worried sick behind his facade. It did not matter at the moment. What did matter was the bartender's reaction to him._ **

A couple minutes passed in awkward silence. Finally Kiyoshi gathered enough resolve and spoke. It's not like it would hurt him to talk anyway.

-... Yes. I do have a child. A daughter. But now... Ah, forget it – the bartender looked away .

\- Nah, spill the beans, Abe. Now that you mentioned it, I want to know it and finding out myself would be too troublesome. It's not like anyone's here to eavesdrop.

\- You are right, Shikaku-_san_. See... Your son's okay now. The attack is over and he is safe and sound , right?

\- Yes. And why... Oh. Shit. What happened to your kid, Abe ?!

\- She's always been a quiet child, but... During the attack she had said her first word. It was not "Mama" nor "Dada". - Kiyoshi sagged, all traces of composed facade gone. - I...

** _Shikaku waited, knowing better to not pry. The Abe family might not have been harmed in the attack, but whatever happened to their girl must have left them devastated. Judging by Kiyoshi's state there was nothing he could do about it too. A a father he knew what it was like to suffer through his duty and to worry about his family out of his mind... and be helpless to do anything about it. So he just looked silently at a sobbing man, hesitant to speak until Kiyoshi gathered himself._ **

\- ... "_Help_". Her first words were a cry for help, and we can't do a damn thing about it ! Junko is just lying there, probably hoping her parents would save her, but we tried to go to hospital and these... They said "We're overworked, we've got not time to deal with your kid since she's not in danger". But she is, Shikaku ! She is ! How can I just go on and wait until they are free enough to see us ... My poor Junko... - the man's voice trailed off, his hands covered his face again to muffle his sobs.

\- Hold on. Calm down, man. Tell me what happened. - the Nara said calmly, urging the man to stay coherent.

Kiyoshi took a deep breath, wiped his face with a tissue for glasses and fell silent. Then :

\- She's been completely unresponsive for last three days. Just lies in her bed , staring up. Doctors had said everything should be fine and that it's probably just shock... I want to believe them. But how can I stay calm when I see my baby girl just not _be _?

\- You just gotta stay strong, Abe. It's father's and husband's duty to stay strong regardless of everything. Hold on, let me think.

_"Third day in shock? No kid should have some severe reaction to Nine-Tails, they either survive it or just give up. If she did give up she would not ask for help , but died instead. Chakra damage in her brain ? Probably not, most likely a different matter altogether. Something's not right here, and poor bastard here doesn't even see it himself. If only Inoichi was here, but calling him now would be too troublesome. Meh, worth a try anyway. I owe the man at least a try. It's not like **I **would have to poke her mind and owing Inoichi a favour isn't a big deal."_

\- ... Alright, Kiyoshi. Listen up. Bring your daughter to the T&I building tomorrow at 13:00 straight. Ask for Yamanaka Inoichi. He'll have a look at your daughter.

As soon as he heard "Yamanaka" Kiyoshi's hopes soared. The best when it came to matters of psyche , not dealing with civilians too often, always making sure shinobi did not fall apart from constant stress and one of them would look at Junko? But weren't all able Yamanaka mindhealers too busy dealing with overflow of work in hospital and T&I right now?

\- They are. But Inoichi's my teammate and he won't refuse if I ask for a favor. But he won't have long, that's why. Also no, - Shikaku's lips spread into a grin.

_ HOW DID HE KNOW WHAT I WAS ABOUT TO ASK?!!! _

  
\- Oh shit. Yoshino would have my head for being so late again. Troublesome. How much for the sake ?

\- On the house, _Nara-san. _For you – on the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any feedback is most appreciated, as is your time reading "Leaflet" :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided to introduce scene music at the time, feel free to let me know if you like it now. Of course, nothing actually forces you to listen to it while reading, but I generally write scenes with a track in mind, so it might help set the mood.  
Also let me know whether you like the “(Japanese Name) no Jutsu” or “(English Translation) Jutsu”. I don’t particularly care myself.   
Still hadn't decided really.

_T&I building, Yamanaka Inoichi’s office._

_ **Scene music – Deadly Premonition OST – "Life is Beautiful"** _

\- _**No.**_\- said Inoichi flatly as soon as he heard the door of his office open.

\- What do you mean "No"? I haven't asked anything yet, - Shikaku replied with mock indignancy.

He knew that Inoichi performed a cursory reading of everyone who entered his room, but the Nara tried to hide his intentions by recalling yesterday's paperwork. Seems that his teammate had to be troublesome and wasn't intent on making this nice and easy so Shikaku could go back to bed. Having a forced medical leave was nice sometimes, especially for such a la... relaxed person as any Nara. Especially after what just happened.

\- I don't even need to read your mind to realize that you need something when you're here **8 in the morning on your day off, you lazy arse.** \- Inoichi snapped without even looking at him, his eyes deep in the paperwork.

\- You got me there, friend, - the Nara gave in, having no desire to play games so early in the morning. - Care to at least let me ask before you refuse?

\- Go right ahead. \- Inoichi chuckled, imagining how would his sloth of a friend  do something that was n' t work.

\-  So. Heard of "The First Canopy"?

\- That fancy place? Don't really go there, "Rusty Kunai" is less of a detour after work. Why do you ask?

\- The bartender there... Is a good man. A civilian. One of the recent immigrants here...-Shikaku decided if he went to it slowly, Inoichi might get some sympathy for Kiyoshi and agree to help.

\- Get to it, Shikaku.  Did you do something to him? Did your " _ Look ma, no hands _ " drinking with your shadow scare him and you want me to  calm him down so Yoshino won't find out again?  \- Inoichi  interrupted , a grin plastered on his face.

\-  That's not scary! That's  _ utility _ ! I t's not as bad as it looks!  **Quit laughing, Yamanaka** _ ! -  _ the Nara snapped back, his pride wounded on behalf of his effort-saving trick.  
\- Anyways no. Not this time. Something weird happened to his daughter  during the attack and I need you to take a look at her.

\- What makes you think I have the time? Everyone's overworked, me included. You should be too, but you probably labored yourself until you collapsed just to fish for a leave, \- Inoichi scoffed. _(__Lucky bastard__)_

_\- _ Nothing really. I am perfectly aware of the work overflow that befell us recently due to the attack. Which is why I am, and I can't believe that I am saying this, willing to help you with your work today of you help that person today. - Shikaku said, inwardly preparing himself for what was to happen.

-... Who are you and what have you done to my teammate you _spy_?! - Inoichi shouted, then jumped out of his table, taking a combat stance, a kunai already in his hand.  Shikaku stood still, nonpussed.

A couple tense moments passed. Then Inoichi started spasming, barely holding his stance together... and fell to the floor, laughing his ass off. Then after a few more seconds he calmed down and stood up.

\-  Phew…  Could at least played along a little there,  Shikaku . A bit of a spar would do your lazy bones  good , eh? - Inoichi said and sat back at his table.

\- Quit fooling around, Inoichi.  A spar in the room this tight would have been too troublesome. Shikaku replied, rolling his eyes. - Anyway, as I said I will help you with your job load today if you will examine  this man's daughter today.

\- Well, that does sound like a good deal. The only trouble is – the only free time I have today is 1 hour at lunch and my wife will murder me if she finds out I skipped eating again. - Inoichi shuddered, as trying to repress some horrible memories.

\- Don't tell me you eat that long or that much so you need the whole hour to eat. Even Choza never eats his lunch for that long and you know the man takes his sweet time. Plus it's not like you'll need a deep reading of her mind. Just do a surface scan and you'll have your lunch in peace. Chances are it's just a severe shock and she'll be okay and if not... We'll have her meet a specialized mind healer. What do you say, friend? - Said Shikaku, hoping Inoichi would just give in and _stop making this more troublesome than it already was._

\- Urgh... Fine. Only a surface scan, 20 minutes, no more! And you better get to holding up your end of a bargain! I'll give you an hour to tell your wife and call that bartender here, then it's paper time with you.

\- An hour, huh...You're such a slave driver, Inoichi... But fine, I'll be here in an hour. - said the Nara, already walking out the office.

Conveniently, Shikaku "forgot" to mention that he already told Kiyoshi to come here at lunch and that Yoshino thought his leave ended yesterday. Now where could he go to pass that hour besides home? Jounin lounge should be empty this early in the morning, plus there was a coffee machine and really _cozy_ couches. Just need to make sure not to fall asleep there, he didn't want to make the situation more troublesome as it was already.

** _2 hours later._ **

\- Lazy arse is probably asleep somewhere. That's fine, I'll be a _good_ friend and save some paperwork for him. - Inoichi muttered, having realized that Shikaku had fallen victim to his "low energy" again. If his son ever turned out to be half as lazy as his father... Well, Inoichi did not envy poor Yoshino. What would happen to the world where two immovable objects existed?

Inoichi pondered, whether should he take a look at that civilian's daughter then if Shikaku broke his end of the bargain. That would be fair, after all. But then a father in him demanded to show some solidarity to a man with a daughter. He could always extract his pound of flesh from the Nara later, with extra for distress and breaking the promise.

\- After all, it's not like it will take all of my lunch time and overall everyone would be less miserable in the end. - Inoichi muttered as he filed the god-forsaken mess that T&I paperwork has become in the last 3 days. With the Fourth dead and the Third being back in his place the documents required complete overhaul again. With a tired sigh the Yamanaka went back to work.

_T&I building, 12:50._

_**Scene music: Deadly Premonition OST “After the Rain”**_

Kiyoshi was nervous when he arrived at his destination, Junko in his hands. His last visit to T&I was not the most pleasant one. The paperwork to migrate and consequent _interrogation_ left him a sobbing wreck that day. The young father knew that actual criminals had it way, **way** worse during their _tet-a-tet_ with one of the T&I workers, but that did little to make his own experience less shameful for himself. Never before his secrets were laid bare by just **_words_**, not even threats neither tortures. Just a pleasantly smiling man that asked him _questions_. And an unsaid implication that if Kiyoshi would not speak willingly, his conversation partner would stop smiling and get to **_work_**.

Still, now was not the time to dwell on his past. Kasumi was overjoyed at the fact that a _Yamanaka_ would see Junko and determine what was wrong. She felt bad that she could not make it, but it was time for her to get back to work. So Kiyoshi, having his working hours start later in the day, was the one to meet the man.

Since the time of meeting was in usual working hours, Kiyoshi deduced that he would take someone’s break time with his request. And ninja usually took their breaks really seriously, he knew as much from his own clients.

Two thirds of the Abe family had entered the building.

\- Greeting, sir, do you have an appointment? - a receptionist asked.

\- Uh, yes. I was told to find Yamanaka Inoichi, - Kiyoshi replied, his voice shaking a bit.

\- Second floor, third door on the right, the doors have nameplates on case you forget. Have a good day. - receptionist went back to whatever he was doing.

Kiyoshi sneaked a peek. _Was that a crossword puzzle? _He never stopped marveling at how ninja could easily go back to usual work flow after disastrous events. Village half-destroyed? Hokage dead? Didn’t matter to them, at least it seemed the case. But he guessed that was sort of job requirement. Can’t exactly do all sorts of unsavory missions if one got easily distressed.

They went up to the second floor. The father quickly found the needed door and knocked.

\- Come in! - a muffled boisterous voice said from behind the needed door. Kiyoshi took a look at the nameplate again and opened it.

\- Greetings,uh, Yamanaka-san, was it? My name is Kiyoshi Abe. Thank you for taking your time to meet us. I believe Nara-san warned you about me? - he said cautiously.

\- Yes...That he did, Abe-san,**_ that he did_**...  
But nevermind that,take a seat and let’s take a look at your daughter here. What seems to be the problem? - Inoichi replied, pointing at a bundle in his visitor's arms.

\- Well. As you see, she’s not responding to anything, just stares in front of her. It’s been that way since the attack and we could not get a psychatrist to take a look at her since the hospital is still overworked. - Kiyoshi replied, getting Junko closer so the blonde could take a closer look.

\- _Pupils unresponsive… Stimulation… unresponsive…_ \- Inoichi muttered as he waggled a finger in front of the baby’s eyes and pinched her nose a bit. - Strange. Are you sure nothing else happened? Most of the children who survived the attack have recovered their senses on the second-third day. Her reaction is typical to a shock that was caused by a much more direct trauma.

\- No, not that I remember. We were there with her the whole night. We didn’t even know anything was wrong until she called for help. She never spoke before that… and after that… - Kiyoshi barely held himself together.

\- Wait, what? What exactly did she say? - Inoichi suddenly tensed.

\- She just whispered “_Help” _and that’s it. Not a word after. We were looking forward to her first word so much… - the father trailed off.

\- Keep it together, Abe-san, I was just surprised. It's not the most rare occasion, but it happens. Did you get a general checkup at least?

\- Ah, yes, here. We managed to go see a therapist. They said nothing was wrong and that by all accounts Junko should be healthy!

“_Those idiots. Can’t they see by chakra readings that something is clearly off? No baby should have such disbalance of spiritual and physical components, not at this age!” - _Inoichi thought. And then said, pushing his papers aside.- Settle her down onto my table as I take these away, Abe-san. I’m going to do a light scan of her mind.

\- Is there a chance that something goes wrong, Yamanaka-san? Forgive me, but as her father I can’t help but worry. - Kiyoshi said, his voice shaking.  
  


\- Kiyoshi. I’m a father myself. I know what it is to worry about my daughter too. I won’t let anything happen, -Inoichi's response was resolute and calm.  
-Besides, it’s just a light scan, I won’t delve too deep into her mind. Now relax  and please keep silent for a bit. I need to concentrate.

_ **Music – Deadly Premonition OST - “Underground”** _

Inoichi started channeling chakra and settled in one of meditation poses. He did not need his Mind Tranfer for a small reading, but one could never allow oneself to be distracted while dealing with children’s heads. If something went wrong the developing personality could be warped or destroyed altogether. He put his hands near the girl’s head and started the scan.

_Strange. There are some weird spikes all over the place. And what is this cluster? No… It shouldn’t be possible! How could these sort of memories form in her age, she’s barely a year old!_  
Dammit.  
I need a dive for a proper scan.

\- Abe-san, I need to do a deeper scan. Don’t worry if I relax too much or slump in my chair and drool, it might happen. You may stay here or you may go to the visitor lounge on the first floor, ask the receptionist. This might take a few minutes.

\- Is Junko alright?! What did you find out? - Kiyoshi's face betrayed his worry and beginning panic.

\- Everything should be okay, I just need to see the details, - Inoichi half-truthed. - Please calm down and have some coffee in the lounge.

\- If you say so, Yamanaka-san. Please, be careful. - Kiyoshi said, looking heartbroken, and exited the office.

“_I think he might have seen through that one. Ah well. Back to … whatever and whoever is in there.”_

_\- _ **Mind Transfer Jutsu!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think 2 chapters of re-edit and reupload is good for now.   
Please, let me know if you have anything to say!


	5. A Meeting To Remember.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today we dive into the parts unknown, the Sea Of Solitude, the Mind Palace.

Contrary to popular belief the Yamanaka clan could not **"read"** minds as in pluck out info they needed. It surely _looked _this way to any not skilled with the craft, but it was instead a combination of scanning and translation skills and techniques that any clan member had to know perfectly even before attempting to delve into minds of others. Connecting their own chakra with the patient's, aligning perceptions to be able to comprehend the information surrounding the diver and finally searching for memories that held the desired knowledge. No dive was like any other except in one thing – you mess up, you both go insane.

For Inoichi it was doubly so at the moment, as his patient was a baby that most likely did not comprehend the world as clearly as people did with age. That meant her thoughts and memories were expected to be undefined and alien to an adult mind. Luckily he was a professional of the highest caliber and worked with children before, and took precautions as needed.   
Next, he molded his chakra as he went through the seals, closed his eyes and firmly said:

**\- Mind Transfer Jutsu!**

After a short pull on his reserves signalized that a connection was established, Inoichi sent his projection into little Junko's mind. As he did he was surprised to feel a plane form around him upon arrival. Not a pleasant surprise when occuring on their own, as usually mindscapes were naturally formed as a response to intense obsessions or severe stress as a means of visualizing and dealing with troubling issues and ideas.

It _was_ a good idea for a ninja, their line of work putting them in tandem or against mentalists of different levels of power and subtlety, and a mindscape levels the playing field heavily to the defender. But Junko was no ninja, and the space around Inoichi did not have that precise, sterile feel that fabricated mindscapes had. It felt... _haphazard_. Regardless of what the reason, seeing mere child having to deal with something like this at all pained the Yamanaka.

As he felt himself finish synchronizing to to Junko's wavelength, Inoichi braced himself and opened his eyes.

_ **Scene music : Deadly Premonition OST : Red Tree (Full one)** _

And was promptly almost blinded by the glint and glimmer surrounding him, tinged green of every hue. Inoichi squinted, let his eyes adapt to the brightness and took a more careful look around.

Jagged crystalline structures composed the plane surrounding him, looking smooth from afar, but upon a closer look revealed to have been covered in small fractures. When Inoichi reached out for one of the pillars, he felt a weak whisper of _**scared**_ and _**help**__. _The pillars branched out, covering the view, but there were enough pathways so the blond could make his way around without breaking anything .

_ (Rule number one : do not initiate contact unless necessary. Let the recipient approach.)  
_

He then proceeded to what seemed to be a clearing in the midst of shining pillars and randomly growing clusters. Inoichi inwardly grumbled as he walked at turtle's pace and dodged the sharp fragments that seemed to come out of nowhere at the last second.

_ Wait a second! They **do **come out of nowhere! That last one I have seen growing out of that pillar to intercept me! - _ Inoichi thought after a particularly close shave that would leave him without his ponytail. -  _I am dealing with passive defense here at the least. And children her age should not have one, not without training. This is no mere trauma coping mechanism. I might have to interfere._

After that revelation Inoichi was prepared to dodge whatever the crystal maze threw at him. Or so he thought before he entered the clearing. The Yamanaka was astounded to see a giant black tree among the clearing, its branches bare, its roots burrowing deep into the crystal floor, sending fractures as they went. Then he noticed a small figure tied down by the branches at the center of the trunk. This must have been his patient, Junko. She seemed bigger than she was in the real world, but that was not unusual among children, most kids wanted to grow up fast after all. Hells, his own mental projection did not have an embarrasing scar on his backside nor a bit of flab caused by office work. Subtleties of self-image aside however, something was clearly wrong with Junko.

_What could possibly happen to you to cause this?! - _ Inoichi screamed inwardly after a closer look revealed that the branches burrowed into the girl’s limbs and stomach.  Her face was marred by a pained grimace, but her eyes were still closed and she did not move.

The situation warranted interference now that  Junko was clearly in danger.  Inoichi needed to determine the nature of the tree. Regardless if it was her own self-destructive impulse or some malignant outside entity  he had to act carefully. Without finding that out just cutting Junko out of those branches would be reckless.   
If that was all her own doing separating her from the tree would likely destroy her mind. But if the tree was of foreign nature the Yamanaka had to destroy it thoroughly. He went on closer and was almost there when he heard creaking sounds. 

S ome branches started to grow faster, and moved closer together, tying themselves in knots. Inoichi froze as he watched the branches weave themselves into vaguely humanoid figure. 

_Shit. Here comes active part of defense. Or is it a representation? Strange, the girl is right there. I need to to be wary and don’t provoke it. _

It seemed that the tree was done making itself a puppet. It was a bit higher than Inoichi and did not looked like it was about to pounce him, which relieved the intruder somewhat, as guardian entities usually _were_ huge and intimidating. This one just seemed… weird. The branches were so tightly wound they almost weren’t seen, leaving an impression of a human shadow or a silhouette. Except there were two bright acid green lights where eyes usually went. The Yamanaka felt like he was being scanned when he looked into them and averted his eyes.

_ **-** **iNtrUder… ** **whY?.. go aWay...** ** \- ** _ the thing sort of emanated opening a mouth, but the words still  _sounded_ warped somehow,  the words unknown to the Yamanaka. The intent however was clear, and Inoichi decided to state his purpose honestly, but firmly.  


\- I came to release Junko. The tree is hurting her. - Inoichi proclaimed quietly, hoping that it understood him

_ **\- still neeD her… No. She is hEre. - ** _ the emissary of the tree hissed,  this time verbally, and understandably.  


\- If she stays, she will waste away. She is catatonic for third day. Her parents worry about her. -  he replied, glad to have established some connection, yet worried about growing hostility of the black growth. He hoped to walk away without a fight, as conflict was risky both due to unknown abilities of the being and to potential danger their clash might bring to Junko.

_ **\- I hope sso too. After all, I should congratulatecelebrate THANK YOU.\- ** _ the figure replied, this time more  clearly, its voice almost free of hissing and creaking. 

_ How did you -  _ Inoichi felt a branch wounding tighter onto his leg. Distracted by the tree and its puppet he never noticed a creeping appendage around his leg. The tree probably scanned him as well trying to immobilize him. Inoichi wiggled his leg trying to break free. To his surprise the branch shattered into pieces like it was made of obsidian.  _ Or not. Crystal? As everything here? _

While Inoichi ruminated on the inside, barely a second had passed in his perception. He decided to pick up the piece of the shattered branch to try and decide the nature of this blackness once and for all, keeping eye on the puppet in front of him. When he  _ looked _ into it… 

It felt almost normal, almost as the crystals around them. But it help no similar feelings, held no fear and desperation. What lied underneath felt like carefully and deliberately architectured void. Where Junko’s crystals held emotions this one held constant flux of thoughts. The Yamanaka would say a “method to this madness” except the method _was_ the madness. No stray distractions or clear troubling desires as were usually found in suppressed negative feelings. No commands or compulsions found in artificial control structures. This _thing _was organized to scarily mechanical degree and, judging by its crystalline structure, was also born from Junko herself for some reason. 

The tree’s sentience worried the Yamanaka as well.  Having a thing with a sense of self in a mind was never a good sign, especially given their current situation. Whatever it was, the tree was not a benevolent structure to the girl. Most likely a chakra construct born when Nine-Tails’ hatred imprinted itself upon the mostly blank mind that is a small child. The fact that it held someone’s memories as well was a mystery, but the one to be saved for later.  The puppet started moving closer to him. 

_**\- Your intrusion is what woke me up after all, Mr…? - **_ the figure asked him, its now definitely male voice tinged with sarcasm. - _** Yamanaka, was it? I suppose I must thank you for that. But where are my manners? I still am to introduce myself.**_

“_This is bad if it’s sentient to this degree. And what does it mean “woke up”?- _Inoichi thought and replied.  
\- Very prudent of you. How is that you are so developed? Little Junko is barely a year old and I won’t buy the “personality to cope with stress” card. Not with Junko clearly in pain and not with kind of memories I’ve seen.  
  
The figure stopped and tilted its head. Inoichi took a step closer.   


\- _**I guess you stopped wanting a civil discussion if you moved directly to interrogation part, **_**Inoichi. ****_Too bad. I actually hoped you can help me with my predicament here - _** it said with a sigh. - _** Oh well. Still, you may call me Rin. A remnant of a name I had a while ago. As for the reason of my advanced state… That’s a secret, although you might guess by my previous remark.**_

\- Secret or not, you do realize I cannot let you be in charge here? You are destroying her mind, can’t you see? - Inoichi said, anger in his voice. He started molding chakra and projected a dose of Killing Intent onto this “Rin” - Stand back and let her free or **_be destroyed_**.

He noticed that Rin freezed once more, as if it pondered something. The Yamanaka decided to wai t for the response, paying attention to his surroundings this time. 

///---///---///

_ **Scene Music: Pertubator : Raw Power** _

Rin did not know what he was supposed to do. He was glad to be awake and, upon a short examination not too terribly damaged. His body controlling skills and speech centers were not in the greatest of shapes and he was pretty sure  some of his old memories were gone for good. Still, considering what he had to go through his condition was great... ** not. **

The situation seemed quite dire to be frank. The mystery of the world Rin had found himself in was solved. The _Narutoverse, _one of the worst case scenarios. Especially in the aftermath of what he now realized was the attack by the Nine-Tailed Beast, The Fox.  
  
_Especially when Yamanaka Inoichi was right now here in his mind,   
demanding he let the owner go,  
__right after Rin, still in haze from waking up,_  
attacked the man and tried to scan him.  
  
That helped him learn a bit about the outside world, sure, and a bit of language skills that he glanced at momentarily helped him regain his speech, but in the long run that was **not** the best move, leaving him with fewer options if he wanted to get out of this situation.

Rin could try to fight and drive the intruder away. It was his mind (_or at least claimed it as his_) and was confident to be able to defend himself without much risk. Problem was he _knew_ he would not succeed in defeating the Yamanaka, what he remembered about the manga showed the blonde as a powerful and professional ninja, skilled in mind reading. He would not risk the encounter with an unknown entity such as RIN and probably just escape now and would do something from outside. Being at the beginning of one’s life again had its pros and its cons, but here the main negative showed itself quite clearly – babies are helpless against those in power, mind of an adult or not.

But despite the pile of problems amassed in front of him Rin did not feel scared or even threatened. Hell, he barely even felt **_anything_ **at this point besides slight worry about himself. Being a crystalline tree did that to a person. Rin guessed having no glands in current situation helped with not panicking, but knew he was most likely wrong. There was probably even weirder stuff happening in people’s brains all the time. Regardless of that, he had choices to make.

He could try to negotiate his survival. He could always bluff that in case of RIN’s destruction the girl’s mind would follow. Even if was not to be true overall, the parasite was sure he could deliver on that willingly with preparations, especially now when the events unfolded in what seemed to be their mindscape.

“_Just got to play it cool. Stay in control, even if I have __to roll diplomacy and bluff as hard as ever. Time to grab my pants and fly as high as I can.__”_

_ **\- So, Yamanaka-san. We clearly got off the wrong foot here. Let’s try this again.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While rereading and tweaking, I actually fail to remember the actual process of WRITING for this chapter. I must have been drunk, sleep-deprived or both at a time. Still, there's some imagery that I enjoyed, and I hope you did too.   
If you did, or did not,please, feel free to let me know what and why.


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